Regional Court Upholds Sutaj Estok's Appeal in dispute with Curilla Group

Bratislava, 15 June (TASR) - Bratislava Regional Court granted the appeal filed by Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) and overturned the default judgment, under which he should have apologised to the police officers centred around Jan Curilla for comparing them to lawfully convicted mob boss Mikulas Cernak and paid compensation, lawyer of the Curilla group Peter Kubina posted on social media on Monday, noting that the dispute is now back to square one and the lawsuit will be heard. "Unfortunately, it turned out that the rules and case law of the highest judicial authorities regarding judgments by default, which we have followed all along, were literally turned upside down by the appellate court," noted Kubina, claiming that despite the existence of several precedents in which similar default judgments were upheld by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, the appellate court didn't follow them. "It ruled that, in its view, in disputes concerning the protection of personality rights involving monetary compensation for non-pecuniary damage, a decision rendered by default is inadmissible. It is detrimental to the case that the appellate court did not at all confront this opinion with the relatively extensive case law to which we referred in our filings, despite the fact that its legal conclusions go beyond the text and purpose of the valid and effective statutory provisions governing default judgments. "This decision surprised us because, until now, the courts had ruled in accordance with the aforementioned case law in this matter," he added, noting that they respect the regional court's decision. "Justice must be blind, yet at the same time carefully weigh all the arguments for and against. That's why it's good when justice prevails in a fair contest, rather than by default," the interior minister wrote on social media. Under a judgment of Bratislava IV City Court on 10 September 2025, Sutaj Estok should have apologised to the police officers around Jan Curilla for comparing them to the crime boss and multiple murderer Mikulas Cernak, who has been lawfully convicted. He should also have paid six police officers compensation totalling €90,000, as well as legal costs and late-payment interest. As Kubina announced on social media on 11 November, Sutaj Estok failed to collect his electronic mail, prompting the court to rule against him by default. The lawyer added at the time that funds in the minister's account had been frozen to cover the compensation. Sutaj Estok responded by stating on social media that he stood by his statements. Due to his workload, he said, he hardly uses the public administration digital platform. In his view, the court didn't take his arguments into account, and he also criticised the judge for not attempting to contact him by other means. am